LSCPA sports information
PASADENA — A freshman provided the magic stroke Lamar State College Port Arthur needed to stay alive in the NJCAA Region XIV softball tournament Friday afternoon. In the end, though, it was the sophomore-laden Galveston College that would dominate for an 8-2 win, eliminating the Seahawks and ending their season at 28-28.
Bailey Suza, a Baytown freshman, blooped a shot into shallow center field to score two for the Seahawks in the fourth inning that, at the time, would tie the game at 2-2 and give LSCPA new life against Galveston College, which finished first in the South Zone after the regular season.
But Galveston responded with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth as they advance through the consolation bracket of the regional tournament, which is being held at San Jacinto College.
“We made some mistakes but we recovered,” Seahawks coach Vance Edwards said. “We battled back like we have all season. Galveston is a quality program and their bats got to us there at the end. I’m proud of what we accomplished this season. We have nothing to be ashamed about. We set out to do better than last year and that’s exactly what we did.
“I can’t say enough about this group of sophomores,” Edwards said. “As freshmen, they brought this program into the regional tournament for the first time in school history and as sophomores, they put together a better record and went back to the tournament with a higher seeding.”
Galveston College took an early lead Friday putting a run on the board in the first and second innings for a 2-0 lead. The Seahawks, heading into the fourth inning, had not yet gotten a hit. After Alexis Perez earned a two-out walk, the hit drought ended when sophomore Rebecca Hernandez singled. Anessa Sanchez reached on an error on the next at-bat to load the bases for Suza’s two-run single.
“That was a clutch hit,” Edwards said. “It’s as big a hit as we’ve had all season. That inning shows what we are capable of doing.”
But the Seahawks were unable to follow up, stranding a pair of runners to end the inning.
Hernandez finished the game 2 for 3 with a run scored, while Suza, Breyn Pulcher and Nicole Thorn each picked up a hit. Pulcher and Thorn each had doubles.
Angelica Rogers went the distance for the Seahawks on the mound, allowing six earned runs with three strikeouts, three walks and one home run allowed.